"sesame street." as terrell brown reports, the character's puppeteer is fighting allegations of a sexual relationship with an underaged boy. >> reporter: to millions of young children,le moe elmo is . kevin clash is the man behind the fuzzy red puppet. and according to this documentary, turned elmo into a cultural phenomenon. >> i knew that elmo should represent love. just kissing and hugging. >> reporter: clash, 52, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy. his accuser, now 23, told "sesame street's" producers in june that they began having a relationship seven years ago. in a statement, sesame workshop said "we conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. our investigation did reveal that kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding internet usage and he was disciplined." clash has taken a break from "sesame street," so he can defend himself from what he called false and defamatory accusations. "i am a gay man. i had a relationship with the accuser. it was between two consenting adults and i am dee